Joef

I have a Skywatcher AZ Goto Mount, and was wondering, does anyone know of the procedure to reduce Backlash in the Azi direction. It is mentioned in the instruction manual, but is very vague on a procedure on how to do it. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi, welcome to SGL. I don’t live in Wigan, but Pie Eating is a hobby of mine.

I may be wrong, but I think that’s the first thing you do before powering up, getting the mount level and facing North, but is the direction and level of the scope important, as the new star alignment would reset your old home position, (I think).

Many thanks for that, I’ll leave it alone then, as I said, in all other aspects it works fine, it just looks a bit weird that’s all.

I’m using the Skywatcher Skymax Synscan AZ Goto mount. I’ve had the cover off already, it seems all you have to do is undo a bolt, and push the scope mount through and turn it, I was just wondering if it would have an effect on anything else. It seems a purely mechanical operation.

A nice Astro Essentials 9x50 Finder Scope, and a BST 5mm eyepiece, looking forward to this evening.

Right, a question for you, I have a MAK 127, and when I put it into the Home position, which it tells me is zero degrees Azi and Alt, the scope is down by a good few degrees, perhaps even 10. It seems to work fine after being aligned, tracks fine. My question is, would it hurt/change anything if I was to take the cover off and disengage the Alt gearing and turn it to zero? The old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind, but it annoys me.

Hi John and welcome to SGL.

Welcome to SGL.

Depending on how I get on with this one, there might be another one or two coming my way.

BST StarGuider 12mm. Arrived this morning, 1st purchase after buying my scope to replace the supplied 10mm eyepiece that came with it, it’s not because it was bad, it was the eye end opening, it was tiny, and wearing glasses really had a problem with seeing through it, but with the BST, I feel I could stick my whole head in it. Just need a patch of clear sky now to try it out.

I will be getting a dedicated Astro camera down the line, how deep I want to go, I really don’t know, in the short term I’ll be happy with the Moon and Jupiter with my DSLR until I get to know what I’m doing and how the scope and mount work. I’m pretty sure the DSLR that I have (Canon 70D) is not the ideal camera to be using, but I can use it in my learning curve, which right now, is more off a learning vertical. About the USB3 connection, I don’t have a USB3 on my laptop, I believe it will only work at the speed of a USB2, what effect that may have, I don’t know yet, apart from slowing down the data transfer somewhat, I’m sure there’s other things, but that’s something I will have to look into nearer the time. I thank you for your help. Whilst confusing and raising questions, it does help.

It was really just an opportunity to take the video between clouds, I really didn’t do anything right, scope right out of the warm house, not setting anything up, so I’m surprised I got anything at all, I even got two of its moons in, but they got lost in processing. But it was a chance to try my hand with PIPP, AutoStakker and Registax. Next time I’ll take my time, and try and get it right. I still enjoyed it though.

Thanks, I've already had a go at videoing with the DSLR, it was rushed, I never set up the tripod or aligned the scope, so it wasn't tracking, it wasn't bad for a 1st attempt, hopefully next time when I'm not trying to beat the clouds it will be better. Is the 224 the ZWO ASI224MC? because thats one of the ones I've been looking at.

Thanks a lot for that, I have an adaptor already for my camera, I was just wondering what would give me the best results with what i have. I want a dedicated astro camera, but that will wait until I can get a good one, I dont want to waste money on a half hearted camera, only to have to replace it down the line. 👍

Just a couple of Questions. 1, I have a Mak 127, FL 1500, and was wondering what would be the best to use for planet photography with a DSLR, A Barlow or an Eyepiece? 2. Is it right a combination of both does not work? If these are stupid questions, just asking for a friend!! 😀

Welcome to SGL Steve, happy gazing when it comes.

Welcome to SGL, I just got my a Skymax 127 just under 2 weeks ago, have not had that much opportunity to use it, but have been able to get good views of the Moon and a decent view of Jupiter and it’s moons. Enjoy your voyage.

Welcome to SGL.

Last night had a clear sky, so took the opportunity to have my 1st go at Jupiter. I set up in my shed, big mistake as anytime I moved, things shook, so I won’t be doing that again. Took a video and a few pictures, analysed the video with PIPP, AutoStakkert and Registax, and this is the result, not great, but for a first go, I’m happy. Overdone the processing a bit I think. Afterwards tried Mars, and even though it was up there laughing at me nice and bright, I could not get it into my camera frame, probably too quick with the focusing, and passed through it. Never mind, next time.

Thanks, I am over the loss of the Drones now, the period of mourning was long and intense. 😪 That’s a nice looking car, I’m sure the spares will turn up eventually/hopefully. My RC cars were the HPI Savages, they were great for throwing around in the dirt and mud, I eventually gave to my neighbour who is going to bring them back to life.

A cracking pic of the moon, the handheld mobile can and does come up with the results, just practise. I agree, it is daunting when you look at other people’s photos, you can’t imagine that you would ever be able to take photos anywhere near as good as them, but I’m looking forward to giving it a go. 👍

Very Impressive, the detail is amazing

I’ve got Photoshop on my Laptop, I’m gonna have to have a go on that, but me and photoshop aren’t the best of friends right now, it won’t do what I want or expect!!

Of course I don’t mind, you’ve made a cracking job of it, I’ve had a go at tweaking it on my phone, but it doesn’t look anything like that. Thanks.